The Police will be charging the owner of a unit in a commercial building along Middle Road for abetting the operation of an unlicensed massage business. Despite having been advised previously by the Police, the said owner had continued to allow his premises to be used for unlicensed massage operations.

In January and March 2009, Police conducted checks on the unit and found female foreign nationals providing massage services to male customers. As the operator did not have a valid license to carry on the massage services, summon action was taken against the operator of the business for operating an unlicensed massage establishment. The owner of the said unit was also informed of the unlicensed massage services detected in his premises and was advised to take precautionary measures to prevent this from happening again. However, when Police conducted checks on the same unit on 25 Apr 09, unlicensed massage services were again detected and the operator of the business was charged and fined for an offence under the Massage Establishment Act on 29 Jan 2010.

The owner of the unit will be charged in Subordinate Court 23 on 28 Apr 2010 at 10am for an offence of Abetting by Intentionally aiding the operator to carry of a Massage Establishment without a valid License under Sec 9(a) Cap 173 read with Sec 109 of the Penal Code. Any person convicted of this offence shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.

Commander of Central Police Division, Assistant Commissioner Lau Peet Meng, said: “Sleaze has no place in our society. Those who willingly allow their premises to be used for such vice activities can expect the Police to continue to come down hard on them, be it a shop or a hotel. Owners have a responsibility to ensure that their premises are not used for illegal activities.”